The XP Transition - Revisiting with RC1

Performance in the Default Configuration

If you’ve got a competent individual at the head of your IT department, he/she will know how to minimize the XP performance hit by disabling the features we mentioned earlier.  But for those that either aren’t aware of the performance hit or simply want to stick with the default Windows XP configuration, what kind of performance impact can they expect?

For this set of tests we used the same platforms, but left Windows XP with its default animation settings and with system restore enabled. 

The largest performance hit is incurred with the Pentium 4 1.5GHz.  This is contrary to what we saw in the optimized tests where the Pentium III 933 actually took a larger hit.  What this implies is that even with a Pentium III 933, the CPU/platform is becoming a limiting factor in the performance of the system as long as Windows XP is left at its default settings. 

The moral of the story is: Unless you’re absolutely in love with the new “Luna” look/feel, turn it off and give yourself back another 20-25% performance.